Lavon Hooks

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

As Fowler observes, the Steelers’ recent wave of offensive lineman cuts could be good news for B.J. Finney, who came into today firmly on the roster bubble. Feiler, like Feeney, is a practice squad candidate.

Hooks, an Ole Miss product, was signed by the Packers as a UDFA following the 2015 draft, but Green Bay cut him last August as part of the 75-man cutdown. He caught on with the Steelers in February, and at least made it to the final cutdown day, so that qualifies as progress.

Ahmed was part of the Falcons’ crop of UDFAs this year but was waived by Atlanta last month. The Temple product made the switch from defensive lineman to offensive lineman during his junior year, and he started 12 of 13 games at left guard for the feel-good Owls last year.

Here are the latest minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

The Cardinals announced a pair of signings today in a press release, confirming that they’ve re-signed safety Chris Clemons and added Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson. A former starter in the Dolphins’ secondary, Clemons hasn’t seen much playing time since joining the Cardinals in 2014, but the team likes him enough to bring him back for a third season. As for Wilkinson, he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Jarryd Hayne, who earned a spot on the 49ers’ roster last year after coming over from Australia. Wilkinson will play cornerback.

The Falconsannounced on Monday that they have waived cornerback Travis Howard and fullback Collin Mooney, two players who spent the 2015 season on the injured reserve list. Mooney last saw the field during a regular-season contest in 2013, when he appeared in 12 games for the Titans. Howard has spent time with the Patriots and Giants, but has never seen regular-season action.

Cornerback Chance Casey, who spent more than half of the 2015 season on the Browns’ practice squad, has signed with the Jaguars, per team PR rep Tad Dickman (Twitter link). Casey was on the Colts’ roster last summer before being waived during roster cutdowns in September.

Earlier today, our own Zach Links joined David Schultz of 103.7 The Game to talk about all of the latest NFL head coaching rumors, including what might happen with the Saints and Sean Payton. You can listen to that conversation right here:

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:

Wes Welker didn’t exactly make a huge impact for the Rams during his stint with the team this season, but he enjoyed getting back on the field, and intends to continue his career in 2016 “as long as I feel good and am having fun,” he tells Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Although Chris Matthews and B.J. Daniels no longer play in Seattle, they’ll both probably be rooting for the Seahawks to come out of the NFC in the playoffs, since they could benefit financially from the team’s success. Joel Corry of CBSSports.com explains that situation, along with several others, in an enlightening breakdown of how the NFL’s postseason pay works.

The Browns‘ new front office structure is creating a little confusion, so Conor Orr of NFL.com explores how Paul DePodesta and Sashi Brown will work together, and what their roles will be in Cleveland.

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has workout updates for a couple more clubs, tweeting that safety Shaun Prater, along with CFL wide receivers Eric Rogers, Kenny Stafford, and TerrellSinkfield, worked out for the Bears. Per Wilson (Twitter link), Washington recently auditioned CFL linebackers Willie Jefferson and Dexter McCoil, as well as wide receiver A.C. Leonard.

The Packers announced that they have released five players in advance of the 75-man cutdown deadline. The following moves have brought Green Bay to an 83-man roster, meaning that they still have some more work to do:

Tavarus Dantzler, LB

Fabbians Ebbele, T

Josh Francis, LB

Lavon Hooks, DT

Vince Kowalski, T

Dantzler did not participate in the NFL combine this year, but he did audition at regional combines and Bethune-Cookman’s Pro Day. Interestingly, his measurables were quite even with Packers fourth-round pick Jake Ryan. Still, the UDFA was unable to crack Green Bay’s linebacker depth chart and he’ll now have to try to hook on elsewhere.

FRIDAY, 11:36am: Having officially signed and announced their undrafted free agent class, the Packers did indeed sign 17 UDFAs. However, a couple of the names on the official list are different than those initially reported.

A pair of running backs, Agnew and Maples, didn’t formally sign with the team. They were replaced on Green Bay’s list of UDFAs by two linebackers — Louisiana State’s Jermauria Rasco and Stanford’s James Vaughters.

1:26pm: After adding eight draft picks over the past three days, the Packers have agreed to terms with another 16 undrafted free agents. Here’s the full list, courtesy of Wes Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media: